In the 2022 NHL draft, the Montreal Canadiens selected 11 times, twice in the first round. The first overall pick was Juraj Slafkovsky, the second first round pick was Filip Mesar. Then the Canadiens had their own second round pick, which they used to pick...Owen Beck. It was their second second round pick that they got from Edmonton for Brett Kulak that they selected Lane Hutson.
Of all those four players, each of them have had their own levels of success and hype, but none have quite reached the level of the diminutive defender Lane Hutson. He was small, listed at 5'8 at time of drafting, there were legitimate questions about his ability to hold up to NHL play. Still, many scouts took a chance and ranked him high.
Having been very optimistic about Lane Hutson's NHL projection in his draft year, even I didn't expect him to round out his game this significantly in just two seasons.
— Sebastian High (@high_sebastian) September 24, 2024
Really impressive stuff pic.twitter.com/VTu38ksDgC
After a couple years in college with the Boston University, and a few more inches (now being listed at 5'10) he has bust onto the scene this year and has even garnered a fair amount of Calder Trophy buzz as the league's best rookie.
However, with the praise comes equal parts criticism. Such high praise undoubtedly comes with higher scrutiny and a lot more criticism. Just a quick search of his name on Twitter shows a lot of negative comments.
Obviously Hutson is a high end player, but are Canadiens fans too hasty in naming him the next big thing in the league and Calder favourite, or do some of the nay-sayers have a point.
The Stats
Welcome to the nhl. Lane Hutson! pic.twitter.com/8wB4GxIRIg
— Rosey🌹 (@imralanyrx) October 18, 2024
Okay, so there are a lot of different ways that data can be found, interpreted and displayed, and obviously this model doesn't really like Hutson's game and metrics so far, after his first three games this season.
In the advanced metrics, Hutson has not been great. He hasn't scored a goal, has scored 4 assists in 6 games and has been a negative +/- player. Looking at expected goals for and against, he is firmly in the negative in terms of goals against per 60 minutes, and goals against at 5-on-5.
He also is on ice for slightly more shots against (56.6% against), and all of these are negatives.
It is important to note that these are still better than expected, especially when it comes to his first year. No one expects Hutson to be a great defensive defender, and would basically outscore his deficiencies, which at this young of a season, he really has.